Bikes and trails are in Alex’s blood. As a kid, Alex grew up riding rogue singletrack trails near his parents’ place in Burlington, Iowa. Now, you’ll find him riding not-so-rogue singletrack that he helped design in his role as Parks Superintendent for the City of Coralville.
Alex started riding bikes again seriously in the last few years to manage stress and for physical health. “Biking is such a healthy outlet and there’s also this social, not to mention spiritual, aspect to it. I’ve met so many amazing people in the cycling world and formed both awesome friendships and working relationships this way!”
Alex is the brains behind Iowa’s newest premier cycling event, core4, which will be back for v2 on Saturday, August 19th, 2023. core4 leaves no surface untouched. Follow along for the ride at core4.bike and on core4’s Instagram.
Favorite place to ride in Bike Iowa City
The northeast gravel just outside of IC is probably my favorite riding, especially around the Oasis area. I like to take visitors to the Vincent B roads, which are classic and really showcase the Iowa gravel scene. When I need a quick hit, a townie ride through IC to CV singletrack always does the trick. You can ride 20-30 miles in the metro all on separated paved trails and singletrack!
Favorite cycling event in Bike Iowa City
We launched core4 in 2022 and it was well received based on the turnout and feedback. The community really stepped up to support what is now the largest gravel event in the state of Iowa! This year for core4 v2 we are turning up the volume so keep your ears perked. It’s going to be absolute dirty gravel fun leaving “no surface untouched”!
I did Lake Mac Classic for the first time last year and had a blast. Also some of my favorite events in CV are Yedi Pedal in the winter for Fatbike riding at Woodpecker and the Iowa MTB Festival at Creekside Flow. Super fun highlights of our urban singletrack.
You always remember your first though, so I must give props to Farm Cycle (formerly known as RadTour) for hosting the first event I went to in Iowa City 6 years ago. Audrey of the Bike Library always puts on an incredible event.
You're ready for some grub after a ride. Where will we find you?
Depends on which direction the ride/wind was! That’s what’s so amazing about our community. You can go any direction and plan a great final destination or a pit stop along the way. There’s either of the Big Groves, Hills 218 Tap, Sutliff, or Reds. Or, if I’m riding CV singletrack, I might hit Reunion patio or somewhere in the IRL like Backpocket.
Bike organizations you're involved with
My employer: the City of Coralville, Bike Iowa City, ICCOR, MPOJC, Iowa City Bike Library, Iowa Bike Coalition, Backyard Trails, Bolton and Menk, the Wellmark Foundation. All the bike shops have been great to work with; Geoff’s, WOB, and SBB. CFJC have been big supporters of CV singletrack. And then recently the DNR and Forterra for material donations. Local banks are also now stepping up to help with singletrack trail development like West Bank, GreenState, and Hills Bank.
With core4 we partner with some amazing groups; 4 different agencies, Rule of Three out of Bentonville, Wilsons Orchard, Big Grove, New Belgium Brewing, Red Bull, and the non-profits and bike shops listed above. Team Iowa PT and the Down2Bike Project are sponsoring a women’s ridership initiative this year which we are super excited about. We always need more youth on bikes so we are working with Corridor Devo and NCJC on some engagement opportunities as well.
